God’s own land….Pondicherry

Spending a year of my life in this beautiful place had been a great pleasure for me. Right from the amazing beaches, temples, to the mouth-watering dishes, I liked almost everything about it. To chill in the cool beaches of Auroville, Chunnambar and in our all time favorite Rock beach where we had spend most of our evenings sitting on those lovely rocks, watching how the waves dances in its own rhythm was like heaven. And I bet if you are a nature lover like me you will love the boat ride to Chunnambar beach which reminds me of Kerala’s back water ride. You will be overwhelmed to see how elegantly those trees stood on the bank spreading their branches like a garland. Some quite moments meditating in Sri Aurobindo Ashram which is a unique spiritual concept, where you can find immense peace in the fragrance and silence of its divinity is a treat to the soul. It is a quaint, enchanting and fascinating place that greets you with a flavor, which you can’t find anywhere else.
You won’t find big shopping malls or sky creepers but it is a place where nature does its wonder. Often referred to as a little piece of old France in India, Pondicherry has managed to retain its French aura from its delightful restaurants offering French cuisine to streets still bearing French names. You will be amazed to see the French colony in the Mission street where every road is parallel to the beach, crossing each other exactly at right angles and that is its specialty.
Shopping here for me has always been of great satisfaction. I liked to shop in Casablanca, a hub of extensive collection of the best local brands, designers and crafts spread over its three floors. You can find the finest leather goods, pottery and incense here in India. And how can I forget to say about the romantic ambience and delicious sea food of Ajanta and Promenade which is located on the Pondicherry beach road facing the beautiful rock beach. Those were my most wonderful moments.
I can’t help speaking about the rickshaw pullers here whom I loved for their hospitality. They never forget to say a thank you once you pay them their dues. They care little about fashion, yet the people here are so beautiful within. I was once sitting on a beach when two Tamil women came and set next to me. Though I was enjoying the aroma of their gazras , yet I pretended to dig myself more on the pages of my novel. They said something like ‘seri seri nalla book’ and one of them putting me absolutely off guard asked very humbly about the novel and the author. I was ashamed how little I knew about the author compared to those two ladies and I realized, simplicity and honesty is their identity.
I still remember how badly I struggled everyday to communicate with my maid who was a Tamil and who didn’t know any other language other than Tamil. Sometimes when I got tired of using my body language to explain each and everything to her, out of frustration I ended up telling in my own mother tongue adding little Tamil and English in it like ‘nee vanga ellai, naa clothes washa, naa now feeling sick.’ and she very obediently shakes her head with a polite ‘seri’ which means okay. I wonder if she ever understood me.
I remember how I have to mix my English with Tamil to make the layman understand. Whenever I travelled by bus, I remembered the conductor playing Tamil music at the highest volume and in spite of the crammed bus and scorching heat, you will find every passenger tapping their feet or their hands, even the kids looked so happy moving their heads up and down rhythmically. You couldn’t help smiling and enjoying the journey.
I adore how artistically women make rangolis in front of their house every morning. Need not say about the yummy South Indian food specially dosas which is my all time favorite and I felt proud to see foreigners adoring our culture and attire. They look ravishing in gazras and saris.
Before I forget let me tell you about Auroville, a planned village which stands after the name of father Aurobindo. That’s a wonderland created as an experiment in celebrating unity in diversity. You will be mesmerized to see the Matri Mandir, which looks like a big golden globe in the midst of Auroville. It is a place of quite concentration, with 80 settlements and 1500 people engaged in various activities like reforestration, organic agriculture, health care and village development. The shops in Auroville resembles to that of Goa with all colorful foreign garments. It is green and beautiful.
I was enthralled by the purity and serenity one can find in this place. I basked in its spirituality.In this one year I felt blessed. The mysterious blend of culture at Pondicherry, now called Puducherry can never be expressed in words, can only be experienced in body and soul. It is such a harmonious land. Yes it’s truly said to be God’s own land.

HIS LULLABY..

When I woke up
In the middle of the night
Frightened and frazzle
By some ghastly dream,
I found myself lying
Cozily between his arms.

Listening to his heartbeats,
Feeling his breathe in my skin,
I felt alive.

A drowsy smile painted me,
I heard a sweet lullaby in his beats
Which again drifted me to sleep.
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ways of getting happiness

WAYS OF GETTING HAPPINESS:

Control Desires
Stay Happy Amidst Sadness

Just Get Happier
Compare Wisely

Remember to Feel Very Happy!
Be Optimistic

Practice Happiness
Choose Happiness Over Money

Talk about Happiness
Like Yourself and Others

Focus on the Body
Make Happiness Your Success

Go on Vacation
Consider Happiness an Obligation

Basic Emotions and Moods Work
See Happiness as the Highest Good

Believing
Invest in Relationships

Choose Your Thoughts Wisely
See Happiness as the Point of Life

Smile Continuously

It was not easy..

It was not easy..

She tried to cover up the key hole with a small piece of paper to prevent the piercing wind from sprouting into the room. Three blankets and a heater still she could not stop the clatter of her teeth. It was peak winter in Delhi and the eve of 2010.
Obliged by the norms of social etiquettes and for the sake of celebration, she coated herself with whatever warm clothes she had, leaving her eyes and nose to see and breathe, she hauled to the party. The vibration of the loud music and the lively crowd made her warm within. To her utter disbelief, she found almost all the women out there in their trendiest outfits revealing their excellent feminine curves. She was stared from her woolen cap to her sneakers by every eye. She badly wished Mother Earth to swallow her or to become invisible like Mr. India. Right then she heard some crackers bursting somewhere and everyone toasted their glass of champagne. Raktim came near her and cheered, “Happy New Year Nikunj, Welcome to Delhi.” He introduced her to few of his friends but she barely remembered any of their names. She tried to sip from her glass to look comfortable but it tasted horrible. “I believe you never had it before. This is your first time, right?” She was completely off guard hearing this. He was one of Raktim’s friends. She tried hard to remember his name but found no clue. “Well, yaa not really?” She foolishly murmured. He smiled at this teasingly that made her numb and her ears started boiling. “So what are you planning to do here” “I am in a job haunt. Want to try my luck in some of the magazines here. I am a writer.” She tried to sound confident and smart. He paused for a while and scrutinized her long golden hair, which looked like a cascade, her beautiful eyes and lustrous lips. He was caught staring, he quickly again continued, “Okay good. You can try in Woman’s era. The office is nearby. I don’t know exactly where but I can definitely find it for you. Give me your number. I’ll contact you once I get hold of the address.” “That will be very nice of you but I haven’t taken any number yet. I landed just two days back.” Though she had a number, she didn’t feel like giving it to him. Something about him was not pleasant. Maybe the way he looks at her, his smile, his voice. She was quietly praying for her cousin to appear from somewhere. “Anyways you keep my card. I have good contacts with some people in media. In case you need any help just give me a call.” He added slowly in a husky voice, “I’ll be at your service.” She hesitantly took the card from him and gave a quick glance at his name, Rohit Agarwal. Finding no sign of Raktim around, she finally said, “Okay Rohit, thank you so much. I had a wonderful time with you but I am afraid I am getting too late. I have to leave now. Do excuse me.” “But how will you go now. It is already too late to get an auto. May I drop you?” She is more than irritated now and this time she spoke flatly on his face, “No thank you, I can manage.” He understood somehow and let her go for this time. She impatiently looked around for Raktim, annoyed and irritated. She felt a great relieve finding him at last who was busy with his girlfriend. “Raktim I am getting late. Please drop me to my guest house.” She somehow managed to sound cool. “Hey Mainu where were you. I thought you already left. I hope you had a good time.” She disliked him for calling her by the nickname, “Ya I enjoyed. Now let’s go.” Sensing the urgency in her voice Raktim understood something went wrong. He hurriedly kept his glass on the table and stood up “Just give me a minute. I’ll ask Nitu to accompany us.” She reached her room after around half an hour. Through out the way she tried to be as calm as she could with Raktim and Nitu. But now she no longer need to pretend. She savagely removed her sneakers and banged it on the wall and lay on her bed gazing at the ceiling for a long time. She no longer felt cold. Tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably. She closed her eyes. She suddenly remembered her father. Her daily morning walks with him. She then remembered the party. That horrible taste of the champagne. She suddenly felt guilty for tasting it. What will her father think if he comes to know about it? She twisted and curled and covered herself with the thick quilt and started to cry. She terribly missed her home. She felt like a child lost in the crowd, lonely and insecure. She didn’t remember when she felt asleep. She dreamed of her little niece, her father and their beautiful garden. When she woke up in the morning, she somehow felt as if she was sleeping in her own room at home. After she opened her eyes, she realized the reality. She felt sick. She tried to be in the bed as long as she could. Her phone rang after a while breaking the silence. It was her father. She got up and set on the bed. “hello Deuta, I was just thinking about you.” She spoke cheerfully, “did you go for the morning walk today?” After a little pause her father replied, “well I woke up late so didn’t go.” He did not say he missed her. “Are you still sleeping?” “Yesterday I got late in the party but Raktim dropped me. Not feeling too well, so just laying down. Deuta please don’t miss your morning walks. Remember what doctor said?” “Okay okay. And tomorrow at what time you have your interview?” “At eleven in the morning” “Okay I’ll call you tomorrow. Take care.”

She reached in time for the interview. There were already many candidates waiting by then. They all looked smart and intelligent. “Hi, you too came for the interview?” asked the girl next to her. “Ya” she simply said. “Well am Nitu, I passed out from JMU and you?” Nikunj liked the girl and spoke out, “I am Nikunj. I am from Assam. I came in search of a job here. I did a diploma in journalism from an institute in Assam’’ “Diploma?? I mean you don’t have a degree in mass com?” Now Nikunj didn’t like the way she spoke, “No, but I have my job experience. I worked for two years with a leading magazine named Attitude in Assam” “Attitude?? I never heard this name” the girl gave a faint smile and started playing with the buttons of her mobile, munching a chewing gum. Now Nikunj actually disliked her. She sat quietly watching everyone, waiting for her turn to come. She somehow felt inferior compared to the rest. She was not selected in the interview.
It was almost three months. She appeared for many interviews but was not selected anywhere. Her cash was about to finish and her bills were mounting everyday. She didn’t have the heart to ask for some more from her father. She didn’t know what to do. She thought of borrowing from Raktim but he was out of station and will be back after a month. She thought of going back home. She thought of calling her father and telling him that she is a jerk. She couldn’t get through even one interview. She thought of telling him that she couldn’t face this tough world. She thought of asking him to send the money for her flight ticket, to catch the very first flight next morning and get back home. She sat on her room turning the light off. It was absolutely dark and cold. There was no sound except the dripping of water one after another from her bathroom tap. She sat for almost an hour. Suddenly she turned the light on. She looked weird. Her hairs unruly, her cheeks stained by tears, her kohl spread all over her eyes making it look like dark patches of wounds. She hurriedly looked for something in her bag. She got it. She held it between her trembling fingers for a while. She then took her phone and finally dialed the number, “Hello Rohit, will you do me a favor?”

i reached heaven

I reached heaven..

I never really believed
Heaven and its serenity exists
Nor did I believe in divinity
But when I lay on his arms
and get lost in the whirlpool of happiness
I believe if there would have been heaven
It couldn’t give me anything better than this.

I never believed
Soulmates exists
But when his fingers mingles with mine
The tickle in my heart says it all.
The fulfilment, the comfort
The happiness I feel around him
I feel I reached heaven.

happiness

everybody loves happiness
nobody likes pain,
but to get the rainbow
you must have little rain

pls think

It is incredible, unbelievable. I am surprised. Did you realize? Oh am sorry. You must be thinking what. Well I am talking about today’s education system. Did you realized how the fee structure of every academic institute is growing? And are you with the type of education they actually provide? Don’t you spend sleepless nights wondering how to pay the fees for your child’s higher education? I am not talking about those who earns above fifties. I am talking about us. The middle class society.And if your child is an average scorer than again it’s a bigger worry.You can’t admit him in any government institute where the cut off marks is all above eighty.So you are left with no other option but to knock the door of the private institute where again money talks.
Now it is very easy to get an education loan. Thanks to the government policy but how about paying the huge about of EMI every month which will come almost half your salary. Yes ofcourse you can pay after your child will get a decent job with good pay to solve the problem? Well you are not sure.